As all of you probably know by now, financial accounting is not fundamentally about "number crunching. "_ Rather, it has more to do with learning a foreign language or culture than with simple mathematics. In this case, we are discussing the language / culture of business. As was the case with Principles, Accounting 601 will involve a fair amount of memorization. Unlike that course, however, more emphasis will be placed on your ability to creatively use that which you have learned in previous financial accounting courses. In short, you will now be expected to use the "grammar" you have been learning to "write sentences. " The majority of Financial Reporting I will involve extensive coverage of FASB standards, SEC regulations, and other significant pronouncements (as well as some liability issues). In addition, we will cover time value of money issues in great detail. The purpose of all of this is to discover how financial accounting information is used in the "real world. " While reading the Statements themselves is not required, students having difficulty with these (or other chapters) should not hesitate to consult the Statements. The FASB standards are available online.